Dressing up to feel powerful may have been a fashion fad of the 1980s,but do we still think differently if we wear formal clothes? Learn moreat HowStuffWorks.com: http://money.howstuffworks.com/busine... Share onFacebook: https://goo.gl/fkNE01 Share on Twitter: https://goo.gl/f012QlSubscribe: http://goo.gl/ZYI7Gt Visit our site:http://www.brainstuffshow.com Well hello there BrainStuff. I’m CristenConger and I’ve got a question for you. Do I look powerful? 'Cause Ifeel powerful! Some people even think that what you wear (especiallyfeminist sweatshirts) can produce this kind of confidence. So what isthis so-called “power dressing?” And does it actually work? To answerthat question we have to take a trip to the smooth 1970s, when a guynamed John Molloy came out with a series of books about “dressing forsuccess.” For men, Molloy recommended conservative business attire thatwas high-quality and fit well. Essentially, a business suit in a darkhue, with a modest white shirt and tie. Think Don Draper. For women,he adapted this uniform to include a skirted suit, and a soft blousewith floppy or bowed neck piece. Think Margaret Thatcher. In order toachieve the kind of authority of The Iron Lady, Molloy recommended womendo two things. Don’t look like a secretary, and don’t look too sexy.Because of course women should protect themselves from their own sexualobjectification! You couldn’t wear waistcoats or contoured jackets,according to Molloy, because they drew attention to the bust. Scarveswere popular because they drew attention to the face and away from thebreasts. It's all about distraction, you see! And floral prints andfeminine colors like salmon pink were out. But you didn’t want to looktoo masculine either, hence the skirts instead of trousers. This wasthe birth of “power dressing.” And by the 1980s, it became the way“enterprising” women learned to manage or limit the potential sexualityof their bodies and leave all that gross girl stuff like cooties athome. But as they entered the corporate workforce in ever-greaternumbers, some women wanted to modify this uniform while maintainingtheir professional appearance. One alternative model for breaking outof these fashion limitations was Princess Diana, with her more glamorousoutfits. Others were on TV, in shows like “Dynasty,” “Designing Women”and “Moonlighting.” Enter broad shoulder pads, wide lapels and a widerrange of textures, colors and accessories. Cut to present day! Most ofthese fashion fads have come and gone, but you can still see theirinfluence on politicians, for example. Take Hillary Clinton. Or DonaldTrump. Many of the tenets of power dressing are still in play today, wejust don’t call it that anymore. But a 2015 study re-examined theprinciples behind power dressing. It found that putting on formalclothing does indeed make us feel powerful and even makes us thinkdifferently. The authors of this study tested student participants ina series of experiments by rating their outfits and taking cognitivetests. When the students switched out of sweatpants and into the kind ofclothing they thought they should wear to a job interview, the testsshowed their cognitive processing became more abstract, broader andholistic. The authors also say that how often you actually wear formalclothes doesn’t matter. Regardless of when you wear it, these uniformshave become a symbol of power. SOURCES: Schaefer, J. O. (2015). Powerdressing. Salem Press Encyclopediahttp://www.theatlantic.com/business/a...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05...http://m.spp.sagepub.com/content/earl...http://lifehacker.com/5867952/dress-f...http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10...http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/... Joanne Entwistle, The FashionedBody. 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/culture/20...